I want to make an argument for limiting the role of the Israeli state in maintaining Jewish institutions. I do so, however, as one who wishes to see an expansion of the influence of traditional Judaism in the Israeli public square. Read in full on Mosaic.

In the last of our highlights, Aryeh Tepper introduces the jazz-fueled piyyut of the New Jerusalem Orchestra; first published June 17, 2010. Rejoin us on Monday for Mosaic's inaugural essay:Leon Kass on the Ten Commandments.

Addressing a trend toward greater openness about sexuality in the Modern Orthodox community, Elli Fischer reminds us, in an article first published December 19, 2011, that Judaism has never treated sex as a taboo subject.

Blowing the WhistleMoshe Simon-Shoshan, Torah Musings. According to respected Orthodox rabbis, the prohibition against reporting Jewish suspects to secular authorities rarely applies in the modern Western world.

Hiding before GodJonathan Sacks, Algemeiner. "The tallit [prayer shawl] hides the person we are and represents the person we would like to be, because in prayer we ask God to judge us, not for what we are, but for what we wish to be."

The World's Oldest Torah ScrollAgence France-Presse. A Torah scroll discovered in a Bologna archive was originally misidentified as a 17th-century manuscript; its true date has now been established as five centuries earlier.

Israel's Talmudic TurnSid Slivko, Jewish Week. Educators reaching out to young secular Israelis in the hope of introducing them to the Talmud have discovered a willing audience.

Bordering on CollapseDore Gold, Israel Hayom. As a result of the Syrian civil war, Middle East borders that have lasted since the Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916 are on the verge of erasure—and the vultures are already circling.

Matchmaker, MatchmakerJodi Rudoren, New York Times. A new artificial-intelligence system, capable of 4.5 trillion calculations per second, is reconstructing 100,000 fragments from the Cairo Genizah.

No CompromiseBen Elton, ThinkJudaism. Accepting contemporary biblical scholarship amounts to "rejecting the attitude toward the Torah held by every Jew until Spinoza and every traditional Jew since."

The Two SaulsClive Sinclair, Times Literary Supplement. Like his biblical namesake, Saul Bellow became a monster in his dotage, according to his son's memoir. But in his writing, at least, Old Saul remained generous.

Tuesday, May 28

How Rational Is Iran?Steven David, American Interest. Saddam Hussein torched Kuwait's oil fields. Bashar al-Assad has killed 70,000 of his own people. Why assume that Iran's autocracy will act rationally?

Waiting for AbbasEhud Olmert, The Tower. "I completely gave up on having an Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley. . . . I proposed a compromise on sovereignty over the Temple Mount." (Interview by Avi Issacharoff)

Kafka on TrialSusanne Klingenstein, Weekly Standard. Two new books show how, and how not, to approach the work of Franz Kafka, now that there is little original left to say.

Lending LimitsGil Student, Torah Musings. By allowing loans to be reformulated as business deals, the Talmud circumvents the Torah’s prohibition on usury. But there are limits to when this legal device should be used.

Friday, May 24

Kissinger the JewGil Troy, Tablet. “The outsider even as an insider, he endured the president’s anti-Semitic rants—and then endured the same contemptuous cries of ‘Jew-boy’ from harsh critics in Israel.”

Hamas RampantCostanza Spocci, Eleanora Vio, Atlantic. A new law forbidding coed schools marks the latest victory in the terrorist organization’s campaign to impose its writ on all of Gaza’s institutions.

Hizballah Reeling?Phillip Smyth, Foreign Policy. Based on casualty reports from its own media, Hizballah is losing both young fighters and seasoned commanders in the Syrian civil war.

Lone SurvivorMarc Pitzke, Spiegel. Refused entry into Palestine in 1942, set adrift by Turkey in the Black Sea, the Struma was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, killing all 800 of its Jewish passengers—except one.